I heard that in places north of the equator, water (for example, going down the toilet) vortexes counter clockwise (anti-clockwise), and that south of the equator, the water turns clockwise.

Well, here in the US, all I've seen is the anti-clockwise vortex. Anybody "down south" able to verify?

TG,
It is a well-known Scientific fact down here, that water circles the drains in an opposite direction to the Northern Hemisphere.
Don't ask me why, those are "just the rules"!.
Drain a bath or a Kitchen sink and you will see the water spiral in a Clock-wise direction.
I've never been to the Northern Hemisphere to try that concept out, but if I was there, I'd usually have more important things on my mind!.

It's a fact I've often seen quoted as well, and yes, the water here in England turns counter-clockwise at it runs away.

I once saw the water turning clockwise into the plughole in my tub and for a moment I figured I'd entered some sort of Twilight Zone...... Then I realized the hole was partially blocked, so that must have set up some kind of temporary vortex in the opposite direction.

Like studying the wiring systems?

Very interesting! Maybe it has to do with the rotation of the earth? I wonder which direction it vortexes when you're just on the equator? I have also heard that the same is true about climbing plants which climb clockwise or anti-clockwise around trees, depending onthe north or south hemisphere. (e.g. The Honeysuckle plant). Now we are way off the domein of electricity !

Well, I've seen climbing plants wrapping themselves around utility poles, which isn't quite so far off-topic!

If they do usually wrap a certain direction around the pole, I wonder whether it's determined by the magnetic field of the earth, and whether the proximity of power lines as the plant nears the top of the pole could upset their "navigation."

There are some funny things attributed to the "coriolis" force, which is due to the earth's rotation. (Such as dogs spinning the opposite direction before lying down - False)
Interestingly, this force is what causes our major oceanic currents to flow the directions that they do.

In the 1800's, eucalyptus trees were imported into the US from Australia, and planted next to future railroad routes. The intention was to cut them and use them as railroad ties, owing to the rapid growth rate, ruggedness, and "built in termite repellent" (oils). Problem was that they grew with an opposite twist from their Southern Hemisphere brethren, and in doing so, lost much of the structural strength.
We now have eucalyptus all over the place in my area. (Southern California)

Electure,
What are the growing conditions like around the Eucalyptus trees?.
We planted these and they killed any other plants around them by taking all the moisture out of the ground.
Like any Australian, they're thirsty, but they don't care where it comes from!.

I heard they keep changing their rotation.

Re the eucalytus trees: I also heard they grew way too fast because there weren't any natural enemies in the US, so the wood was soft and unusable.

The worst plague here are the ailanthus trees. they were imported from China around 1900 and immediately spread everywhere. If you have one big tree, you have 100 saplings within a few weeks. Some of our neighbors have several mature ones, so all we do is digging out small ailnathus all summer long. And they grow helluva fast! Within 5 years you have a tall tree, and after 10 years it'll easily tower your house. And they grow _anywhere_. I've seen some grow right out of the mortar joints of a brick wall, growing _inside_ a basement, right out of concrete sidewalks... we jokingly call them "the green demolition".

True for winds and sea currents, not true for the drain. (It is the shape of the drain that matters.)

See for example:
http://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.htm

How about the sun? Could it affect the plants? Plants often turn to the sun.

[This message has been edited by C-H (edited 05-07-2004).]

As a kid I never understood the concept of water swirling in a toilet. Seems to be unique to North American plumbing. European toilets flush with no swirling at all

Also in the southern hemisphere a south-facing house isn't exactly a good selling point !

[This message has been edited by djk (edited 05-07-2004).]

Having lived in both hemispheres, I can confirm that in the main it is all true. In the absence of any other factors water develops a spin opposite to the other direction, in general.

On a visit to Kenya, on the equator I also experimented but could not perform the experiment sufficient times to be conclusive in the week available. 22 years in the UK and 18 years in South Africa provided a robust experimental window

I would hazard a guess that one contributing factor is that the initial water level in European bowls is much lower than in their American counterparts. Couple that with the typical European straight "wash-down" design vs. the usual American syphonic action, and that probably accounts for it.